contribution of missionaries to education in ghana

The missionary impact on education would have far-reaching consequences, as their creation of a weak basis of education would slow down the political and educational development of many former colonies in Africa. I well remember when he came to live with me in Trenton. The evangelical societies founded in the Americas included the Baptist Missionary Board and the Nova Scotian Methodists, whose members went to work among the Maroons, who had settled mainly in Liberia. The story of the planting of Christianity in Nigeria would be incomplete without a mention of the Italian Roman Catholic priest, Father Berghero. They therefore set about to achieve this through introduction of formal education among the Batswana people. Hope Waddell was later joined by the Rev. And yet the Asafo provided most of the services which a community needed: protection against military attacks, communal services, etc. Missionaries were no doubt also aware that Africans came to associate European technological achievement with Western education (Bassey 1991:45) and therefore offered Western education as a means to attract Africans of this belief and then convert them. J. C. Taylor, in these parts of southern Nigeria can still be seen today. Africa and the Winder World 3. This thesis discusses and assesses contribution of Christian Missionaries to education in Meru from 1908 to 1963. In conclusion, the educational enterprise of the Christian missionaries in the British and Italian colonies of Africa during the mid-nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries was primarily negative for the African pupils. They worked tirelessly to lay a foundation for formal education The European missionaries established elementary and second-cycle institutions in the country. They were to spread the message of the Gospel, render social services to the people and to assist in the suppression of slavery and the slave trade. As long as the Africans could read the Bible, the missionaries were satisfied that they had had enough academic education. Edward Berman notes that contemporary critics of the missionaries felt that missionaries were more interested in increasing enrolments in their respective churches than in pooling their resources for the benefit of African education (Berman 1974:533). document.getElementById("ak_js_1").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Foremost in the contribution of the early Christian missionaries to the development of Ghana is their efforts to bring Western education to Ghanaians. An attempt to respond to this question informs the underlying interest for this paper, namely, to explore the extent to which these institutions, especially . As happened in other territories, the Christian missionaries did not confine their work to the spread of the gospel alone. Prior to the arrival of Europeans in the 15th century, informal education existed in Ghana with the goal of introducing young people into the society. JNE sustains a commitment to a threefold mission: first, to stimulate the collection and facilitate the dissemination of facts about the education of Black people; second, to present discussions involving critical appraisals of the proposals and practices relating to the education of Black people; and third, to stimulate and sponsor investigations of issues incident to the education of Black people. In 1892, the Church Missionary Society opened the Iyi Enu Hospital in Onitsha which is today a leading hospital in Anambra state. Again, the Wesleyan missionaries established Mfantsipim School in Cape Coast in 1876. History Vol. grammatical name The Basel missionaries, in particular, established experimental farms and plantations in places like Akropong. In many instances, they made their converts rebel against traditional rulers and other spiritual leaders. The expansion of the missionary movement into Africa was part of the growing conception of Christian responsibility for the regeneration of African peoples. Soon after, in 1835 they moved up to Akropon on the hills in Akuapem, where the pioneer missionary the Rev. Furthermore, each denomination had differing policies on education, so standards in education fluctuated across each colony, depending on what denomination had schools in each area. The education provided in schools in early days also tended to place great emphasis on the superiority of western culture. In spite of the division, the parent Methodist missionary church played an important role in the history of Christianity in Sierra Leone. Notable among these were cocoa and coffee. Reiterating what teacher education must encapsulate, Adegoke (2003) and Benneh (2006) indi-cated that the mission of Ghana's teacher education is to pro- The consequences of norm conflicts are likely to manifest beyond educational pursuit. A new era began with the settlements of Black Christians from Nova Scotia in Sierra Leone in 1787 and the missionary advance inland from Cape Town beginning with the arrival there of J. T. van der Kemp in 1799. To export a reference to this article please select a referencing stye below: If you are the original writer of this essay and no longer wish to have your work published on UKEssays.com then please: Our academic writing and marking services can help you! Burns & Oates, 1979. A history of Christianity in Africa: From antiquity to the present. Further, the missionaries introduced improved methods of farming together with modern farm implements. government questions In short, it was a very successful mission in making us little black Anglo-Saxon Protestants. hR]0+^$%K{_"/HevgV+bH6L %)`\ #\E*63Z_TsxlRZj:[/\IL-1b-i By focusing on the African demand for education, I showed that Africans were not just passive recipients of mission schooling. Born in Cambridge, Mass., in 1933, Vincent Burke was the third of Walter and Eleanor (nee McGoff) Burkes four sons. Another missionary whose memory is revered in Nigeria was Mary Slessor, she arrived in the country in 1876, and for many years worked assiduously as a missionary nurse. Establishment of Christian Churches In Nigeria. In 1880, two Roman Catholic priests of the Society of African Missions (S.M.A. Its message was that of love and the universal brotherhood of mankind. education was an important means for mission evangelization. Indeed, once the souls had been saved and since the students must have been considered clever enough, European languages were almost universally the languages of instruction in the later primary years and in secondary schools (Beck 1966: 120; Foster 1965: 159; Miran 2002:127). Another valuable contribution of the Christian missionaries in West Africa was the development of literature in the local vernaculars, this included the translation of the Bible into some of the important local languages. One Liberian student recalls that we were taught to dress properly, to eat properly, to speak properly. Here you can choose which regional hub you wish to view, providing you with the most relevant information we have for your specific region. During this period, difficulties encountered were different from the initial difficulties which will more related to sickness, deaths and the suspicion of indigenous people in accepting the Gospel. Learn how your comment data is processed. In conclusion, the converts tended to look down upon many things in their ancestral culture. Although it can be said that Christian missionaries benefitted Africans by bringing in the more advanced Western education to the European colonies in Africa, it is believed that the mission schools in fact had a negative impact on the native peoples. Their greatest legacy in the field of education was the foundation which the Methodist laid for what is today the Gambia High school. Daystar Press, 1978. It started first among the Yoruba recaptives who had embraced the Christian faith while in Sierra Leone (freed from slave trading ships by the British Royal Naval Squadron), and who returned home between 1839 and 1845. However, the early missionaries established medical centres, at first at their mission posts, and later far and wide, to attend to the sick. Missionaries and the intellectual history of Africa: a historical survey. Itinerario 7, no. What would have happened if missionaries had not insisted on monogamy? Andrew Foster (educator) - Wikipedia Lack of transport from the coast to the interior parts of West Africa was one of the major difficulties encountered by the missionaries. Some of the missionaries came with them (549 years ago) but many died from the cruel tropical weather of forested West Africa. 'In view of this idea, Mmofraturo, the first girls boarding school in Ashanti was officially . The Akim area had about 3400 converts over 32 villages and there were about 900 children distributed in 27 Schools. For example, they preached against human sacrifice. Series CLR. 11 Missionary College Scholarships You Can Apply For Again, in West-Africa, the efforts to go beyond the coast to reach those inland with the gospel coincided with the southwards expansion of Islam which posed some threat to the expansion of the work of Christian evangelizing missions. Another negative impact of mission education was that it weakened traditional societies, which in many ways further served the colonial cause. others adopted a system of education varied from one and the other hence, lacking consistency in the educational sector [3]. The original letters from abroad cover West Africa from 1899 to 1933. New missionary societies (the LMS, the CMS, the Holy Ghost Fathers, the White Fathers, etc.) 4>Ofv}TMdQ! But the funds and other needed materials even when available could not reach their station in time. Technical and vocational education had been emphasized in the education system in Ghana since the colonial era. Hundreds of believers were baptized, branches organized, and a mission established. Who is Mrs. Konrad in Second Class Citizen? Foremost in the contribution of the early Christian missionaries to the development of Ghana is their efforts to bring Western education to Ghanaians. Thank you! Buchi Emecheta The lead was followed by other missionaries, notably the Roman Catholic, whose first higher institution was St Edwards Secondary School in Freetown. The weakening of traditional societies was not simply a consequence of the efforts of missionaries but one of their main objectives, stemming from their belief in the civilizing mission. Supporters of the civilizing mission believed that European colonial enterprises were justified as the Europeans were imparting their superior Western culture and ideas to the ignorant heathens of Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australasia. Contribution of Christian Missionaries in Ghana - Cegast Academy In 1954, he became the first Deaf African American to earn a bachelor's degree from Gallaudet University, the American university for the Deaf, and the first to earn a master's degree from Eastern Michigan University.He earned a second master's degree from Seattle Pacific Christian . Nevertheless, the first higher institution in Ghana, now the Presbyterian Training College at Akuapem Akropon, was established in 1848, first as a centre for training catechists, and later to train teachers as well as ministers of the Presbyterian Church. Furthermore, they were skilled farmers that could grow cash crops to be consumed back in the mother country, such as cocoa from Ghana (Foster 1965: 153). These Christian converts considered themselves to be holier than their traditional rulers and elders. Literature PDF Missions, Education and Conversion in Colonial Africa church were founded in south-eastern Nigeria, the chief centres being Bonny and Brass. The role of the Christian missionaries in Ghana and West Africa was not limited to the education and agricultural sectors alone. S.J. They include Sierra Leone 1900-1933; Ghana 1903; Cape Verde 1904-1910; and St Vincent 1907-1912. It is possible to hear the tune of this missionary hymn. Although most people are Presbyterians, they can also go to spirit and other cults, mostly Christian and Pentecostal movements, to find cures for disease and lack of success in this world. At the end of the eighteenth century, the Evangelical Revival began to bring to Africa an influx of missionaries whose laoburs would produce the first fruits of an enduring Christian presence in Sub-Sahara Africa. One reason why the Christian missionaries came to Ghana and the rest of Africa was to convert the people to the Christian faith. These included the Baptist missionaries who under the American evangelist, Thomas Bowen, started work from Ogbomosho in 1855. If your specific country is not listed, please select the UK version of the site, as this is best suited to international visitors. Many missionaries died because of the climate and tropical disease. quiz Properly meant by Anglo-Saxon standards. There were no Bibles in local languages, likewise grammar books were scant, so the missionaries had to spend time learning local languages, and translated the Bible and wrote series of grammar books. It is important to emphasize that the modern history of the Christian Mission in Africa started from the late Eighteenth Century, the Catholics had been there earlier in the first centuries of the Christian era especially during the first Portuguese adventures. Father Vincent Burke SVD, 83, recipient of Ghanas Officer of the Order of Volta Award, passed away at Techny, Ill., on Sept. 21. In the Western Region, the Catholic Sisters running a hospital at Eikwe specialized in maternity cases, and like Slessor in Nigeria succeeded in stamping out the practice of killing twins at birth. I wanted to buy a smartphone for him, but when he got to know the price of the cell phone, he humbly declined. Meanwhile, the Scottish missionary, Mary Slessor, had established a reputation in the Cross River area as a nurse. Upon completing his degree, Father Burke received his first assignment abroad: Ghana, the first Black sub-Saharan country in Africa to gain independence from a colonial power. Many Ghanaian communities got divided along religious lines. The original letters from abroad cover West Africa from 1899 to 1933. Ghana continued to call. This finding was supported by two types of analysis. Instruction in the Colonial School and the Wesleyan Mission schools at Cape Coast Castle was in English despite the fact that Fanti was the language of the native people. However, as Jonathan Miran (2002) argues in his work on the roles of missionaries and the Italian state in Eritrean education, missionaries should not be held solely accountable for the poor standards of education. Up to Guggisbergs time, the church schools did not receive grants from the government. 503 0 obj <> endobj During the first half of the 19th century they targeted healthier places, with relatively lower malaria-risk, where European missionaries could survive and train local African missionaries and teachers (Jedwab et al. Being ignorant of the significance of certain institutions and practices of the people of West Africa, and occasionally being misled by their over-zealous followings into wrongly interpreting the peoples heritage, the missionaries compelled pupils in their schools and docile adult converts to shun their own ancestral practices. university courses Other difficulties the early Christians faced were the problems of the many languages and dialects and their ignorance of the true meaning of the various cultures, beliefs, values and ways of life of the people whom they set out to convert to Christianity. To apply, students simply fill out a quick form. Christian converts were indoctrinated to frown upon the use of indigenous first names in favour of Christian ones. The Basel and Methodist Missions, for example, introduced scientific agriculture in Ghana. Without denying that prior to the introduction of Christianity in West Africa the people had developed their own crafts, one must admit that it was Christian missionaries who introduced modern forms of crafts such as carpentry and masonry. To supplement these missionary efforts in the field of higher education, the government opened its own secondary school in Lagos in 1909, this was Kings College. African poetry Isichei, Elizabeth. Johannes Zimmermann wrote a grammar of the Ga language, and in 1874 the Rev. Finally, education affects many other aspects of peoples lives, including economic opportunities and political attitudes. PDF Formal Education in Gold Coast-Ghana: An Overview of Colonial Policies Father Burke became director of the Divine Word Language and Cultural Centre in Ghana. His work, however, did not extend much beyond Cape Coast and the neighbouring area. However, by the turn of the Nineteenth Century there was systematic efforts by churches of Christian Europe, namely: Anglicans, Methodists, and Baptists who were active in Sierra Leone and, with Presbyterians, in Nigeria, while Methodists also set up missions in Ghana, Gambia, and Dahomey. Prior to advent of the Christian missionaries and indeed well into the pre-independence period, most sick people depended for cure upon concoction herbs and roots and barks of trees. A large percentage of Ghanas 30 million people are nominally Christian (more than 70% as of the last census), and 28% consider themselves evangelical believers. Teacher Education in Ghana - SAGE Journals They worked to write the bible, dictionaries and textbooks in such Ghanaian Languages as Ewe, Fanti, Ga and Twi. The missionaries condemned African religion, music, art, festivals and customary practices. Series CLS. Among the early Protestant evangelical societies founded in Great Britain were the Baptist Missionary Society, the Church Missionary Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, the Wesleyan Missionary Society and what became known as the Presbyterian Missionary Society of the Church of Scotland. Bamgboye & Company Press, 1976. They were at the forefront during the fight for self-rule in Ghana. He had a special devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Kalu, Ogbu. On the opposite side, the coming of the Christian missionaries brought in its wake certain negative developments like disregard for African culture and rebellion against traditional authority. In addition, while missionaries did run many academic primary schools, they provided little secondary education, a practice which prevented natives from becoming too educated (Ayandele 1966:286) and potentially subversive. With the arrival of more missions into the country came an explosion in mission schools across southern Ghana. Young Vincent began his studies with the Society of the Divine Word at Divine Word Seminary at Miramar in Massachusetts in 1947. These pioneer mission schools met with a discouraging response. Some progressive Europeans, like the first principal of Achimota College, Rev. It was however in the coastal territories filled with mulattos and other European trading communities that Christianity won some of its early success. The Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist and Anglican missions all made a major contribution to education in Ghana and Africa as a whole. The kingdom of God in Africa: A short history of African Christianity. African Drama 2 Longman Group Ltd. London 1974, Ampadu B.K Notes on History of Ghana for Senior High Schools. While colonial administration in colonies such as Kenya attempted to some degree to provide training for Kenyans to fill the high-level positions (Sheffield 1973:86), the attempts in many cases fell short, and when the European administration left, Kenya, for instance, had few sufficiently educated replacements (Sheffield 1973:88). It is obvious that the main reason why the missionaries came to Ghana was to convert the indigenous people to the Christian faith. The Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist and Anglican missions all made a major contribution to education in Ghana and Africa as a whole. 2023 Society of the Divine Word. Operating from Whydah in what is today the Peoples Republic of Benin (formerly Dahomey), Father Berghero, in 1860, visited Abeokuta and Lagos where freed Catholic slaves from Brazil welcomed him warmly. (with Examples), Top 20 Topics in English for Academic Purposes, 7 Rules of Referencing and Citation in Academic Writing, 10 Importance of Referencing and Citation in Academic Writing, How to Get a Degree Without Going to High School, Joseph Rhodes Dunwell Methodist Missionary, 1835, Thomas Birch Freeman Methodist Missionary, 1838, Thomas Thompson Society for the Propagation of the Gospel/Anglican, 1752, Wesley Girls High School, Cape Coast Methodist missionaries, Mfantsipim School, Cape Coast Methodist, Adisadel College, Cape Coast Anglican Missionaries, Holy Child School, Cape Coast Roman Catholic, St Augustines College, Cape Coast Roman Catholic, Archbishop Potter Girls School, Takoradi, Aburi Girls Secondary School Presbyterian, St Monicas High School, Mampong Anglican. Father Burke, whose students included Father Tetteh and Archbishop Charles Palmer-Buckle of Accra, arrived in Ghana, West Africa, in 1963, only four years after the country gained independence from Great Britain. Furthermore, mission schools discouraged traditional ways of life outside of the classroom. A special memorial Mass was celebrated at the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Accra, Ghana, on Oct. 9. He was followed, three years afterwards, by the Rev. Notably among these missionaries are the Wesleyan, Basel, and Bremen. 3 (2002): 555-584. This made it difficult for the early missionaries to stay in the country for long. And traditionally polygamous societies would have higher educational outcomes today. As happened in parts of Yorubaland in the last century, some of the Christian missionaries often engaged in local politics and took an active part in helping the colonial authorities in their wars of territorial expansion. Thus missionaries, by imparting education that promoted dependence on colonial rule, arguably contributed to the political instability that continues in the present day in many former African colonies, such as Kenya and Eritrea. The missions agricultural schools were especially beneficial for colonial governments considering that governments believed that manual labour was a means to prevent discontent and unrest in the tribes (Hansen 1984:232). Then share it on your favourite social media platform for the benefit of others you care about. All rights reserved. Initially, their activities focused on coastal areas. Ghana Education Service seeks to create an enabling environment in all educational institutions and management positions that will facilitate effective teaching and learning and efficiency in the management for the attainment of the goals of the Service. The result is that today, many Africans are alienated from their authentic ways of life. station in 1858, it was not until 1889 that the missionaries entered Hausaland, which was predominantly Muslim. In 1859, the first newspaper in Yoruba, called the Iwe-Irohim, was published by the missionaries. The original Yaba College in Lagos has grown into a polytechnic. The education and skill development of the people is the highest, most potent agent of national development that the Church imparts to its output of students, scholars, and professionals who perform various precious roles in the various sectors of the national economy for national development,' he stated. Among several others, the native Bishop Ajayi Crowther produced the first translation of the Bible in Yoruba. Their economic activities went beyond the development of agriculture. It would be wrong, however, to blame all these ills on the Christian missionaries alone. But with colonial conquest and antimalarial drugs, they moved further into the continent. It was difficult for the European missionaries to communicate freely with the local people. We shall begin with the positive contribution of the Christian missionaries in Ghana. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in the name of Father Burke can be made for the care of elderly and infirm missionaries and sent to The Rector, Divine Word Residence, 1901 Waukegan Road, P.O. Soon after the start of elementary schools, the missionaries started opening higher institutions also. In this respect the Christian religion therefore differed from the traditional religions of West Africa, which along with an acceptance of one Supreme Being worshipped a hierarchy of gods. Theres still so much to be learned from the history of education in Africa and its long-term consequences. Amidst much honest missionary activity in the country for two centuries, prosperity gospel teachers have also gained influence, and numerous indigenous cults have arisen with distinct appeal and just enough truth to create confusion and syncretism. A history of African Christianity 1950-1975. Similar developments were carried out by the missionaries in other Nigerian languages, Efik, Kanuri, Igbo, etc. Discipleship and leadership development are needed in order to support local churches and their growth in Ghana. At the time of its inception, however, there was no publication that systematically or comprehensively addressed the enormous problems that characterized the education of Blacks in the United States and elsewhere. . While living at the Divine Word Residence in Bordentown, N.J., he often visited parishes and schools to talk about missionary work. As one Eritrean student remarks, Our sisters [the Italian Sisters] would have undoubtedly taught better and more, but the Italian government in the colony did not permit Eritreans to get good instruction (T.T. They were replaced in Sierra Leone by the Holy Ghost Fathers in 1864, who made converts in large numbers not only among the pagans but also among the members of the then competing Christian churches. Metadata. This Western education imparted to the Ameru by the Church of Scotland Missionaries, Consolata . As happened in Ghana, the development of training colleges in Nigeria was slower than secondary schools, though the C. M. S. had opened the first training college at Abeokuta as far back as 1849. It is interesting to note that while in many ways missionaries sought to isolate students from their cultures, missionaries often insisted in teaching in the native languages. PDF OVERVIEW OF EDUCATION IN GHANA - WikiEducator Another difficulty that the early missionaries faced in the spread of Christianity was insufficient Christian literature at that time. For instance, in Ghana, it was in 1858 that Rev. This was around the same time that the first Portuguese sailors arrived on the coast of Ghana. The first Europeans arrived at the West-African Coasts at the end of the fifteenth century. The Missionary Factor in Ghana's Development, pp.11 &135 categorically asserted that economic and social changes were brought about by the total effect of the various projects initiated by the. Debrunner, Hans Werner. The school, which was established the year of independence in 1957, was a work in progress. The missionaries also greatly improved the health services. By February 2, 1918, all Basel missionaries had been deported from the Gold Coast. For more than a year, Ghanaian Saints continued to practice their faith in their homes. non-slave trade), Christianity, Civilization and Colonization. Moreover, it was not in the colonial powers interest for the natives to become too educated, as they might become self-reliant and could conceivably demand independence from the colonial power, so encouraging the less intellectual agricultural schools was in the governments interest. With the support of the Propagation of the Faith within the Vatican, whose Cardinal Secretary became Pope Gregory XVI, various Roman Catholic missionary societies were founded. Besides being an online tutor, Ralph is an author and expert digital marketer with proven skills in SEO content writing. Ghana - Statistics and Church Facts | Total Church Membership

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